Posted: November 11th, 2011 | 9 Comments »
Sparks igniting, fuses arcing, mini-lightening bolts in my hands . . . in an instant On Slender Threads embarked on a new adventure. One my mind could not have birthed. Having eons ago developed an eye/ear/heart for experiencing miracles, my senses have long opened to embryonic signals, smells, lights, sounds, that alert one to extraordinary happenings. When Sue O’Kieffe posted about a newly discovered stone she was distributing, reading about the 23+ inclusions piqued my curiosity. Then I saw a photo . . . “snap” went my instrument panel . . .
“look at those sacred geometry shapes, the astounding choreography of colors, those beckoning portals.” Their transformational energy would be ideal for Mindfulness Mantles. Weeks passed as the selecting, purchasing, and receiving took placed.
“Crackle” ignited my heart as I opened the first arrivals of auralites. These are amazingly potent; yet gentle, compassionate stones emerging as our earth groans with change. Tingling shivers went through me. My intrigue grew as I held the raw piece replete with mystery . . . like a tiny spark reflective of a larger brilliant flame. Always fibers and stones go into the reposing armoire before being offered to a Mantle. So they rested.
As several more weeks passed, I was longing to use my favorite yarn from last year . . . a colorway difficult to find. Having only three skeins these had to be mine . . . wow, a Mantle especially for me. Loop yarn, lift needles, feel the gliding baby suri, merino, and bamboo as the long slender road of thread began to change form. Can you feel my delight? The soothing colors were dancing happily with my light playful mood. “Pop” . . . the ribbon fell . . . was it words, was it image? “Make an Auralite Mindfulness Mantle limited edition in this yarn.”
I leapt to the computer knowing more yarn was essential . . . only to find this colorway discontinued by the manufacturer months ago. (heart sink) No wonder it was scarce! Taking ribbons (gifted messages) very seriously, there ensued a long circuitous web surfing sprinkled by pleading phone conversations. In the US and Canada only a few stray hanks hidden in various knit shops’ out-of-season storage surfaced, but definitely enough to create a small edition of custom triangle, rectangle, and crescent Mantles.
A Mindfulness Mantle in these fibers and stones, like a round Chinese coin with a square center, symbolizes the intersection of earth and heaven. Soul whispers and earth whispers converging into the flickering Mystery of a shared eternity . . . embodied transformation merging with the new on 11/11/11. (an auspicious day in my microcosm and an auspicious day in our macrocosm)
Posted: July 27th, 2011 | 3 Comments »
Images spinning like plates . . . first high, then low, then four swirling through space . . . all safely held aloft by her skill. Watch her pull colors, textures, shapes that catch her fancy geysering forth from her soul unfettered by fear. Words piercing, paintings quivering, threads pulsing, beads glowing . . . richness upon beautiful richness, thunderous in depth and design. A tapestry inviting one to enter fully awake to sip the wonder. How does she do it? Because she listens into the mystery with the ears of her heart. How do I know? Because she asked my story, listened keenly, and saw my heartbeat. Then with her plate spinning dexterity she gathered the threads of me into a blog post that absolutely captured the heartwork of my hands. In gratitude I don my red shoes being honored by the privilege of dancing with her and her muse . . . long will I remember . . . and long will we dance our truths wearing our red shoes.
Met Donniece Smith (her feet in boots) and her muse LuLu Red co-creators of Thirteen Threads From the Wild Heart. Blog visits with them will enchant you.
Posted: July 6th, 2011 | 1 Comment »
. . . “we know we will
. . . WoYaYa . . .”
“WoYaYa Mantle” born from soul stirring by Annie Johnstone’s
hauntingly compelling song
her voice, melody, and lyrics became my rhythm
woven with the nudges of my ancestors
Ever so softly “WoYaYa” always sings in this Mantle
echoing that I will be an ancestor
praying backwards and forwards with each loop
touch her, she pulses with “we know we will,
WoYaYa”
Black as the mystery
Red as our menses
held together by the long line of life
changing color hues with each generation
creased with individual’s struggles
bound in pattern, flowing freely
Fluorescent as “heaven knows . . .”
showered by faceted rainbow moonstone
• triangle shaped—three sides merging body, mind, spirit
• black spirals anchored with moonstone—moving us onward
• alpaca and silk fiber—earth connections
• ‘fair trade’ vintage sari silk from Nepal—earth connection giving life to women
• faceted rainbow moonstone ever connecting to feminine energy, cycles, intuition—earth connection born of powerful transformation and change
Posted: June 27th, 2011 | 3 Comments »
All too soon it has happened again . . . I found the last gardenia blooming among brown shriveled blossoms hanging limp on the shrub. It’s a sad day! How I will miss the gorgeous white blossoms wafting fragrance over the garden reminding me of every June experienced in the South. Always legions of memories line up like old friends waiting for a welcoming hug, a gentle glimpse into the past. Especially welcome are the poignant memories of my Mother with heartbeats from a younger time. How is it a fragrant flower can tie one to the earth with such fondness? For about four weeks this shrub graces all of one’s senses informing the world that all’s well–at least for this moment in this one spot.
Botanical classification names her Gardenia jasminoides, common gardenia, native to China with glossy bright green leaves and double white three inch flowers. Common, never! Forever she will reign as Soulful Queen of my garden.
This season seemed unusually short. Was it because of tending the garden, creating Mindfulness Mantles, or loving grandchildren. Could be all of them! Guess I’ll know as 2012 blossoms bloom this season’s memories.
Here’s a deeper story of this luminous beauty. See the four stages of bloom-an opening bud, full flower, the stem where a flower was held (look closely in the lower right hand corner), and a tight green bud.
How I wish the fragrance could be offered digitally.
But here’s the glory–
see this mound of a shrub almost reaching our home’s roof–thirty years ago this shrub began a flower cut for an arrangement for some special long forgotten event
–just couldn’t toss it out after the blossom browned–with time roots pushed out of the stem so into the soil it went. This is the mother shrub to others lovingly planted in my daughters gardens.
What glory! What splendor! What wonder!
Always connecting me to memories of another circle in time.
Posted: February 2nd, 2011 | 5 Comments »
StarTree Etiology
after Michael Dirr’s
Manual of Woody Landscape Plants
StarTree grandiflora –
(star tree gran-di-flo’ra)
STEM–monofilament 10 # test, clear
SIZE–8 feet by 4 feet
HARDINESS–0 degrees, can ice on exterior, does not damage shine
HABIT–graceful twirling in breezes
RATE–rapid
TEXTURE–shiny, clear rainbow refracting hard plastic, sparkles in sun and moonlight
FLOWERS–3” by 3”, five petal points
FRUIT–wishes materialized, dreams fulfilled, enticing possibilities
CULTURE–“loved into being”, must have child-like knowing, an angel nearby, abundant birdsong, gentle breezes, melodious wind chimes
DISEASE and INSECT–curious birds, gnawing squirrels, pesky people with scissors
LANDSCAPE VALUE–auspicious beauty, wondrous wishes, enchanting quiet, best place to watch a full moon rise, extreme solitude
CULTIVARS–if you’re special and really lucky, you might be gifted a star start
PROPAGATION–must be grafted (a lost art in the U.S. according to Michael Dirr)
MIRACLE OCCURRANCE–struck by a full brilliant rainbow blasting from a star through my home’s open window and door, down the driveway, into the street and smack into my eyes (an easy 75 yards)
EVOLUTION– after years of branch deterioration and needing to find new huge limbs lying alongside the road, carrying them home, affixing them to tree, the branch has evolved into an ornamental iron fixture in permanent residence above the swing
ZONE–only known specimen–On Slender Threads’ Shade Garden
NATIVE HABITAT–an open heart, child-like wonder
ADDITIONAL HISTORIC NOTE–CREATION STORY
The star seed came from a going-out-of-business sale at an import store where I was collecting treasures for Performance* costumes and props. All purchases had to have that special connection, not logical or even reasonable, but had to beckon, fall off the shelf, or give some luminous hint. I was trying to decide how many of these glorious half-priced stars to buy when to my surprise being such a long distance from our homes, there was Katie’s Mom, whom I hadn’t seen for years. Our eyes caught instantly filling with a quick tear, we spoke hellos, then she left. What a Katie blessing!** An accidental meeting in a far away import store, no way? Decision made, all the stars were purchased, for what purpose I had no idea.
Months passed, costumes were designed, created, and waiting in each child’s closet. Honoring the flow of the skirts, this years Performance was titled StarShine. The props were completed, StarShine painting framed, program at the printer (listing of dancers in each class, props, with book and art bibliography). Now remained just walking through the last classes. But something was missing, usually the costumes, one large painting or piece of art, props, and children were enough. Not this year . . . what, where, how? Then I remembered the stars tenderly tucked away . . . perfect. Hummmmm, how will I use them, hang them how? From a very large tree branch, of course. Getting that suspended from the stage grid would be easy enough.
There was little time to spare; Performance loomed that weekend. The tree branch (a bit of urgency), “I gotta have a huge tree branch, really a graceful limb”. It was Thursday; tomorrow the stage had to be set. Believing and breathing I drove home from the last day of classes, pulled into my driveway . . . what’s that on the curb? . . . three houses up the street was a looming shape, unmistakably tree parts. Park, run up the street . . . it’s a southern magnolia . . . huge limb, perfect in the graceful bend of every bough. You can see me, right, lifting this huge gift upon my back, smiling all the way home, singing, “. . . sugar magnolia, blossoms blooming . . . ”.
My last preparation hours vanished unexpectedly with pressing family needs. No problems, I was used to improvisation . . . our classes were built on improv. At 9:00 Saturday morning the auditorium doors opened to the stampede of twelve eager and ready three years olds with their families. I walked to the keyboard; caught my musician’s eye and whispered, “ Let’s let her fly”. Touched each child, gave a quick intro to the audience, then we went up on stage. They took their places, and I opened the curtains. (Are you getting a feel for my many hats?). Long forgotten was how to incorporate the StarTree into the Performance.
Excitement was soaring. Being such a young class I was on stage with them. We completed our usual in-the-circle warm-ups when I heard myself say, “Meet me in the quiet place”. As if pulled by an invisible magnet, the children danced on music they had never heard and sat under the star tree silently waiting. The children knew! In that amazing performance moment one could hear a pin drop as awe filled the stage. My heart saw Katie’s smiling eyes. And so it went into the night with the thirteen classes ranging in age 3 – 12 years old. No direction was ever given except “meet me in the quiet place”. What a staggering, profound, enlightening, heart piercing experience . . . StarShine in every performance.
Numbed by the long hours and 1000+ audience I began striking the stage moving automatically from task to task. Through the daze I heard someone ask, “Where do you want the StarTree?” And my husband said, ‘No, Kay, it is not going home with us.” In shocked disbelief I was grappling to find words when my beloved musician said, “We’re not leaving this StarTree. It can go on top of my van.” And so it did, slowly with extreme caution. (Are you picturing this, a van covered with a huge star draped limb?) When we pulled into the driveway there stood my smiling husband “I know exactly where that goes!” Again, disbelief, “Where?” “Over the swing in the garden.” Now twenty years later please “come meet me in the quiet place“.
_________________
* Imagination in Motion Performance was each class dancing a full class period on stage with their families and friends in the audience. It was low key and developmentally appropriate. New material as well as choreographed pieces were presented to showcase the children’s full range of dance vocabulary and problem solving skills. The parents loved it. For my musician and me it was an exhilarating eleven-hour day.
** A car accident caused this beautiful vibrant child to leave the earth at age 4. Her death marked my life forever. Katie was my student whose favorite activity was coming to dance class.
Posted: January 22nd, 2011 | 22 Comments »
For any post-Christmas the day was regular this Tuesday, December 28th. I was organizing piles of undone things, anxious to begin a new Mindfulness Mantle collection that had been stirring in my brain. In regular cadence a FB message landed in my mailbox marked PRIVATE. Hum, curious. Debbie Kabin: “I was wondering if you have ever made any kind of prayer or comfort shawl or small blanket for anyone who is dying…kind of like a comforting family quilt -if that makes any sense?” She wished one immediately for Kay Marie whose husband was dying. Debbie wanted a tangible sacred tool, a heart gift/being-with gift, to give from a circle of Friends. “Yes! Please find out his favorite colors, symbols, loves.” From rapid forward motion my head’s rhythm immediately slowed to a steady intense single beat as ‘have-tos’ fell away, schedules dissolved, allowing this creating to begin. In my heart of hearts I strongly believe that the most important thing we do in this life is help each other die.
Knowing the time was extremely short; my focus became myopic as I searched for proper yarn for this Comfort Covering. What an honor to knit in awareness during such a sacred intersection of time and passage. Soft lofty natural cotton yarn began to glide onto my needles . . . looping prayers with breath with love. Soon these answers arrived from Debbie.
All within easy reach, right here amongst my cache of wonder, I gather spirals (operculum shells, Shiva eye cyclondia shells), hand-dyed sea silk yarn (silk and seaweed fibers), amazonite beads, long-saved silver dragonfly charm, and a silver star charm that refused to be left in its compartment. I’m a Pisces; so transposing this watery word list into tangible items was easy, so familiar, so natural. Can you see the new piles forming, leaving options open to more time and listening? Then back to Silence, and breathing, and loving . . . knitting, knitting, knitting.
Then the landscape changed, the season shifted, the yarn morphed color . . . from Alabama to Pennsylvania, from winter to summer, from natural to lilac. Shaking my head this shifted back and forth for long spans of time. I just kept to the Silence and looping in hand. That cusp between conscious and unconscious narrowed, the light sparkled then I heard her voice. “Kay, would you knit a small blanket for my legs and one for my shoulders. Something to comfort me, it gets cold here in the nursing home in the wheelchair?” Knowing that I would never see her alive again, I’d asked how I could help her. “Of course, Mom, I’d love to the very minute we return to Pennsylvania.” With two small children under foot I sat on the porch in steamy August heat swinging, and knitting, and crying. Would she live until I finished? Would the postal service get these heartbeats there in time? Would she experience the love I looped and prayed into each stitch?
Smiling now I knew the root of my swift ‘yes’ to Debbie. What an old circling back into my life, my knitting, my being. Deep into the night my needles clicked in song, ever aware of Kay Marie, Web, and Matt. After some hours of rest I returned with morning’s light knitted that day and embellished into the night. Could be my imagination, but when tilting one’s head and listening with heart ears, ever so faintly a gentle soothing melody of whirling symbols whispsers through the spirals.
Remember the silver star that insisted on being a part? Well, that grew louder and more adamant. So, to continue being true and releasing the need to know why, I sewed it into the final spiral. Thinking, well, I do love stars. Early the third morning the Comfort Covering was tenderly packed and shipped on the wings of USPS to arrive in perfect timing. Days later I found this FaceBook status posted by Kay Marie on the Wednesday that star had been sewn into its spiral.
Do I make prayer shawls, prayer quilts, Comfort Coverings? Yes, Debbie, I do. Thank you for asking! They are sacred heart tools to soothe loved ones as they dance into the great Mystery of Death . . . that kiss between two consciousnesses.
Posted: January 11th, 2011 | 8 Comments »
Well that’s twice in 11 days. On 1/1/11 and now on 1/11/11 these numbers have pulled my spine upward. I’m a lover of 11′s; they call me to listen more deeply. Over the years they’ve created a magical living rhythm marking my life . . . I was 22 in 66, 33 in 77, 44 in 88. But there’s more than dancing digits happening this January. There’s an echo accompanying the numbers, a convening of colors, sounds, shapes, and half heard hopes, all whirling side-by-side, all begging for attention.
Seems a similar chorus happens each New Year offering smooth transitions rather than jagged upheavals. Again a book is the polestar. By it’s colors and content The Book of Symbols: Reflections on Archetypal Images connects with a pottery chrysalis, a metal sculpture, yarn, a new Mantle collection, an oil painting, and a soapstone heart. Appearing as tiny miracle seeds, how’d they get here? A few are regulars always on the table; others dovetailed. The book, in today’s mode of falling off the bookstore shelf at my feet, was a random offering from Amazon that would not be ignored. A friend’s New Year’s greeting summoned her oil painting. Twinkling from the yarn store bin those skeins pulsed to be brought home.
So these days are tenoned in musical rhythms like African drums speaking or Swiss Alps singing. If I miss their melody, then their colors remind me, their patterns call me to their echoing soul messages. “Me, me, take my thread, weave me into 2011.”
Posted: April 20th, 2010 | No Comments »
A Garden Walking Toast to Mara — Potter extraordinaire!
Her love, her vision, her tender touch permeate each vessel with spirit gifts. One can sense Mara’s mindful attention to every detail. Guided by a steady heartbeat her hands center the lump of mica clay into skyward reaching forms. Is that the faint sound of Mara soothing the first fired piece with her black heart rock–wait, now I’m hearing the hissing of the flames refining the vessel with smoke kisses. As if my osmosis, blessings from the mica clay and Mara and the universe are sipped into one’s Self.
To Mara!
Mica Clay Cup Mother . . . ahhhhh
Peony Blessings
Encircling
And onto the Swing
. . . with the final tip of the mica cup the earthchimes rang ‘good-bye’ until next time.
Thank you, Mara!
http://www.pattymara.1000markets.com
Posted: January 1st, 2010 | No Comments »
Here’s a gifted Wish that pierced my heart.
Through a swiftly moving cloud cover, only Brandon with his magical, musical timing could have captured this image. And only Brandon could speak so eloquently.
Happy New Year to Us All.
May we be kind to TwentyTen gliding gracefully with open hearts into her newness.
Posted: November 23rd, 2009 | No Comments »
Here’s PattyMara’s first embrace by her Serenity HeartSong Mantle. She calls it her “first snuggle”.
Words fall away.
Communication is complete.
